Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

EEA EFTA Separation Agreement Joint Committee meeting, 18 December 2020

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Honourable Friend, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas (Wendy Morton), has made the following Written Ministerial Statement: The EEA EFTA Separation Agreement agreed with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, protects Citizens’ Rights, and includes other separation provisions. These provisions wind down certain arrangements that the UK has with the EEA EFTA States by virtue of their participation in the Single Market and other EU-led initiatives. The Agreement also establishes a Joint Committee whose primary role is to supervise and facilitate the implementation and application of the Agreement, with the power to make decisions. The Joint Committee has a rotating chair, which, when held by the UK, will be chaired by a Minister from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, but may be delegated to officials.  The first meeting of the Joint Committee took place on 18 December 2020. The meeting was held by remote means, with the UK holding the rotating chair. All parties reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the correct and timely implementation of the Citizens’ Rights part of the agreement, which protects the rights of EEA EFTA nationals living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EEA EFTA States and the agreement as a whole.  Two decisions were adopted by the Joint Committee. The first decision adopted was the Rules of Procedure for the Joint Committee, and the second was on ‘triangulation’ under Article 32 of the Agreement. The triangulation provisions ensure that social security coordination rights between the UK, the EU and the EEA EFTA States continue for those in scope of the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement and the Withdrawal Agreement. Corresponding agreements between the EU and the UK, and the EU and the EEA EFTA States were in place by the end of the transition period, thus the Joint Committee was able to set the date from which the triangulation provisions would apply as 1 January 2021. Copies of each of these decisions have been deposited in the House Libraries.  The Joint Committee will meet at least annually, with Iceland holding the next rotating chair. The next meeting is expected to take place later in 2021.

British Council Annual Report and Accounts 2019-20

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Honourable Friend, the Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams), has made the following Written Ministerial Statement: Copies of the British Council’s Annual Report and Accounts for the 2019-20 financial year have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. As the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, it makes a significant contribution to projecting British values overseas and generating soft power for the UK in return. In doing so it makes a lasting difference to the UK’s security, prosperity and influence.The British Council is the world’s leading cultural relations organisation, with a reach in 2019-20 of 983 million people. This included 76 million direct interactions, through a presence in over 100 countries.The Council received £187m grant-in-aid, including £161m ODA, from the FCO in 2019/20.The Report can also be found at the British Council’s website: www.britishcouncil.org.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions Update

Baroness Stedman-Scott: My honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions & Financial Inclusion (Guy Opperman MP) has made the following Written Statement.The Pension Schemes Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 11 February. We are now setting out next steps, delivering on the commitment made during the passage of the Pension Schemes Bill and following extensive engagement since report stage in the House of Commons. The Act will introduce:Three new criminal offences, including a sentence of up to seven years in jail for bosses who plunder or run pension schemes into the ground.The legislative framework needed to usher in pensions dashboards that will give savers greater control over, and awareness of their pensions.The legislative framework to allow Collective Money Purchase pension schemes to operate.Powers to require pension schemes to take the Paris Agreement temperature goal into account, and other climate change goals set by Government.Strengthened rules around pension transfers to prevent members being misled in relation to transferring their pensions pots.Measures to support trustees and employers to improve the way they plan and manage scheme funding over the longer term and enable the Pensions Regulator to take action more effectively to protect members’ pensions.We are now progressing the secondary legislation to ensure the UK’s pension system is safer, better and greener. The sequencing of the subsequent legislation will allow for proper consultation, engagement with key stakeholders and further Parliamentary debate, through affirmative procedure where required.Following our consultation in January 2021 on Climate Change, we will lay these world leading regulations this Summer to come into force ahead of COP26. This will make the UK the first major economy in the world to legislate for, and bring into practice, the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, ensuring climate change is at the heart of the pensions system.On the Pensions Regulator’s Powers, we will consult on the majority of draft regulations this Spring, and will commence these powers and the criminal offences measures in the Autumn. For the duty to give notices and statements to the Regulator in respect of certain events, we will consult on the draft regulations later this year, for commencement as soon as practical thereafter.In early Summer we plan to consult on draft regulations for scams and Collective Defined Contribution Schemes, with commencement on the scams measures from early Autumn 2021.We aim to consult on proposed regulations for the Pensions dashboard later this year and lay draft regulations before Parliament for debate in 2022. Delivery remains on track for 2023 in line with the plans published by the Pensions Dashboards Programme.On Defined Benefit Scheme Funding, later this year we will consult on draft regulations, following promised engagement with key interested parties, working closely with colleagues at the Pensions Regulator as they develop the revised Funding Code, which will also be subject to a full public consultation.Both Ministers and Regulators will continue to engage with both Houses of Parliament as these measures progress.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Update

Viscount Younger of Leckie: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Brandon Lewis) has today made the following statement:As part of the pragmatic and proportionate implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Government is taking several temporary operational steps to avoid disruptive cliff edges as engagement with the EU continues through the Joint Committee. These recognise that appropriate time must be provided for businesses to implement new requirements, and support the effective flow of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.For supermarkets and their suppliers, as part of the operational plan the UK committed to at the UK-EU Joint Committee on 24 February, the current Scheme for Temporary Agri-food Movements to Northern Ireland (STAMNI) will continue until 1 October. Certification requirements will then be introduced in phases alongside the roll out of the Digital Assistance Scheme.In addition, further guidance will be provided later this week on parcel movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to provide necessary additional time for traders beyond 1 April. Guidance will also be set out to help address practical problems on soil attached to the movement of plants, seeds, bulbs, vegetables and agricultural machinery. And the Government will write to the Northern Ireland Executive to confirm that flexibilities within the Official Controls Regulation 2017/625 are such that no charging regime is required for agri-food goods.